At 38 years old, Kevin Durant is still considered to be one of the top players in the NBA. He averaged 26.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.8 assists over 78 games last season, earning All-NBA Second Team honors.

Alongside LeBron James and Stephen Curry, he is raising the bar for how superstars can continue to make an impact in the later stages of their careers.

During media availability, Durant expressed that his initial goal was to play 10 years in the league.

“I was just hoping that I could get up to 10 years. You just hear the statistics of how short your life is as an NBA player. I took heed to all of that information early and I just wanted to approach every day like it was my last, and hopefully I could get 10 years. That was really my goal. After 10 years, I just want to keep it going as long as I can.”

Durant was drafted with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft. Nearly two decades later, he is considered to be the Houston Rockets’ best player heading into the 2026-2027 season. Other members of his draft class, such as Al Horford and Mike Conley, have transitioned into supporting roles.

High Hopes

While Durant has maintained an exceptional stat line throughout his career, one criticism that the 16-time All-Star has faced is his lack of team success since leaving the Golden State Warriors in 2019. The full dynamics of the Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns during his stints should be considered in these assessments, however, as Durant’s teammates also contributed to team success.

The good news for Durant is that there is a lot of optimism surrounding the Rockets this season. Alperen Sengun continues to evolve his profile as one of the NBA’s top playmaking centers, Amen Thompson has made strides as a contributor, and Fred VanVleet is making his return to the court.

Rockets head coach Ime Udoka may decide to slightly decrease Durant’s minutes from 36.4 minutes per game, though the two-time NBA champion has shown no signs of needing load management. Rather, Udoka might lean on the side of caution to lessen unnecessary risk during an 82-game regular season.

Overall, Durant has the potential to help the Rockets make it back to the Western Conference Finals. His longevity is one of the various upsides of Houston starting the season with a clean slate.